China's Mid-Autumn box office sees modest growth

China's box office revenue for the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, which lasted three days until Tuesday, reached 389 million yuan (US$54.89 million), according to data released by the China Film Administration on Wednesday.

The figure marks a slight increase from the 367 million yuan recorded in 2023 and the 371 million yuan in 2022, according to box office tracker Maoyan.

In comparison, the Mid-Autumn box office hit a record high of over 800 million yuan in 2019.

This year, domestic films accounted for 85.35 percent of the total box office earnings during the holiday, the administration's data showed.

"Stand By Me," a drama inspired by a true story of socially disadvantaged children, emerged as the holiday's top performer, grossing approximately 124 million yuan and becoming the only film to surpass the 100-million-yuan mark.

The crime comedy, "A Frozen Rage," co-starring popular comedienne Ma Li, secured second place with nearly 50 million yuan.

Third place was "Like A Rolling Stone," a drama based on the real-life road trip of a 50-year-old woman, which earned 36 million yuan.

Berlinale Silver Bear winner Yong Mei stars as a romantic woman who, after years of deferring her dreams, decides at 50 to live a life of her own making.

The film currently boasts the highest rating of 8.6 out of 10 on review platform Douban among the holiday releases.

"While this year's Mid-Autumn Festival period saw a high volume of film releases, the absence of major blockbuster hits led to a relatively low level of excitement and a subdued market performance," read a research note from Maoyan.

This followed the weaker-than-expected summer box office from June to August, which has already prompted introspection and analysis from industry insiders in the world's second-largest film market.

In an earlier interview with Xinhua, Dong Wenxin, a film industry observer and cinema manager, attributed the summer box office decline to several factors, including a drop in the number of major films, the loss of core audiences, the rise of alternative cultural and entertainment options, and the impact of short videos on viewing preferences.

At the same time, she noted that many of the season's box office contenders avoided playing it safe and instead embraced innovation. Notable examples include "Decoded," Chen Sicheng's first venture into the code-breaking genre.

Although "Decoded" earned 330 million yuan – a figure that falls short of market expectations – the film has been praised for its blend of auteur-level storytelling and blockbuster-scale visual effects.

"Over a longer timeline, the box office results of a single season or film may be just a local win or loss. What's more important is the industry's progress, the growth of audiences, and the improvement in the capabilities of industry professionals," Dong said.

In her view, "When creativity brings new expressions, audiences get fresh content, cinemas offer new experiences, and the market sees new growth, everyone is introducing 'new tricks' – that's how Chinese cinema will secure its future."

Attention now shifts to the upcoming week-long National Day holiday starting on October 1, traditionally one of China's most lucrative moviegoing periods.

According to film data platforms Maoyan and Beacon, the most anticipated titles for the National Day holiday include Lu Chuan's sci-fi film "Bureau 749," crime action flick "High Forces" starring Andy Lau, Chen Kaige's war movie sequel "The Volunteers: To the War 2," crime drama "Tiger Wolf Rabbit" starring Xiao Yang, and "Give You A Candy," a disaster feature from Liu Jiangjiang, the director of the 2022 hit "Lighting up the Stars."